Pokémon Black/White Has Your Most Formidable Rival Yet

Welcome to a mini-chapter of our Pokémon Diary series, part of our in-depth coverage of Pokémon Black/White. This short entry deals with your encounter with N at the Dragon Spiral Tower. Spoilers ahoy!

Moving on from Sekka City, which we covered in Diary Entry #5, leads you to more trouble with Team Plasma almost immediately afterwards, and takes you into the Dragon Spiral Tower, which is a large spiral-shaped maze, similar to Ho-Oh’s Bell Tower from Pokémon Gold/Silver.

Dragon Spiral Tower was my first time meeting a Dragon type in the wild, in the form of Crimgan. Unfortunately, he’s too low-level to use effectively in battles at this point. The leveling trend in Pokémon Black/White seems to support using one team through the whole game; bringing in a new team member requires a lot of EXP Sharing and special training, and even then, the new Pokémon will probably never be at a sufficient enough level without grinding — something Pokémon Black has thus far managed to avoid.

The Dragon Spiral Tower is also home to the box cover Legendary from the “other” game (Black or White); in this case, Zekrom the black Dragon Legendary, who cuts quite an impressive figure. While his 3D model leaves something to be desired, Zekrom’s overworld sprite is huge and imposing enough on its own.

Here’s the catch, though. You can’t capture whichever of the two legendaries you encounter at this point. This is because, by the time you get to the top of the tower, N has already captured it. That’s right, your rival captures a flagship legendary Pokémon before you do.

N then challenges you to capture the remaining legendary, so that the two of you can have the ultimate showdown, and, thankfully, flies off on his new Pokémon’s back. A good thing for you, because his new pet is at least ten levels higher than your party.

With nothing more to do here, you’re forced to fly back to Resort Desert and explore the Ancient Ruins there. This is…what, the third dungeon in a row? The Ruins introduce sand traps, where you’ll get sucked down a level if you run for so much as a single step.

There’s more Team Plasma storyline here, so unfortunately I can’t delve too deeply into this section. Let’s just say that the plot is building and building! I’ve even met Adec, the Champion of Pokémon Black/White.

Once you’re done dealing with Team Plasma, it’s time to resume the journey. One badge and a Pokémon League to go!